Hawkins, Russell, and Tan, Evangeline (2016) Females with anorexia nervosa in Singapore. Atlas of Science, May 2 2016.

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Abstract

[Extract] Pressure to be thin can be exerted by various sources both external and internal. Sociocultural pressures include the showcase of gracile models and advertisements for diet products and slimming programmes in magazines and on television, criticisms about weight or shape, encouragement to diet, and role-modelling of eating habits within families, as well as overt approbation of skinny models or celebrities and comparison of appearance among peers, and teasing. Drive for thinness, which is conceptualised as the assimilation of societal standards of beauty and attractiveness into one’s belief system, is one of the core features of anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa includes a restriction of energy intake relative to requirements leading to a significantly low body weight; an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat even though at a significantly low weight; and disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight.

Early findings in Asia documented patterns in eating disturbance that differed from Western-based symptom patterns, though subsequent studies indicated that anorexia nervosa in Asia is gradually becoming more similar to Western societies. It has been argued that Eastern values, such as collectivism, are protective against eating disorders.

Singapore is a multicultural society strongly influenced by globalisation, where Western culture is widely embraced, especially by the younger generations. We wanted first, to compare a sample of females with anorexia nervosa in Singapore with international samples in terms of the risk factors related to anorexia nervosa, severity of eating pathology and levels of psychosocial impairment. Second, we wanted to explore the relationships between anorexia nervosa risk factors and adherence to Asian cultural values.

Item ID:	48856
Item Type:	Article (Commentary)
Keywords:	anorexia nervosa; Singapore; females; eating disorders; Asia
Date Deposited:	08 May 2017 22:47
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170106 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9202 Health and Support Services > 920209 Mental Health Services @ 80% 92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920410 Mental Health @ 20%
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